Wednesday, 29 August 2012

Review: Ocean of Secrets by Aimee Friedman

When Miranda
Merchant escapes her lonely, hot summer in New York City, little does she know
what awaits her. She steps off the ferry on to an island rife with legend and
lore.

She isn't expecting
to feel a connection to this unusual place. And when she meets Leo, a
mysterious local boy, she finds herself questioning everything she thought she
knew about boys, friendship, reality . . . and love.

But is Leo hiding
something she never could have imagined?

Ocean
of Secrets has something magnetic and alluring about it; I’m a person who
quickly gets weak at the knees for a gorgeous cover and Ocean of secrets in my
opinion has one of the best around. Ever since I have received a copy I haven’t
been able to stop staring at it. Everything just seems to fit together for the
cover; the colour, the picture and the title; it just gives off a totally
mesmeric feel. I was initially a little let down by the title change it was
previously known as Sea Change. But once I finished the book, thinking it over
this new title matched the book perfectly as the marine Miranda goes to is full
with several secrets.

Miranda
is forced to spend time with her mother at the mysterious Selkie Island. After
her grandmother passed away, she left her house to Miranda’s mother. Miranda’s
felt that she has not seen much of her mother since her parent’s separation, so
decides to spend the summer with her. Before she even reaches the Island, a
strange man on her boat starts putting odd stories in her head; about the myths
surrounding Selkie Island and how it’s supposed to have creatures that live in the
waters. Miranda know he’s just pulling her leg, there’s a young boy on the boat
too, so she thinks he’s making up this story for show. But when Miranda finally
gets up on the Island, she starts to notice strange things; she stumbles across
a book in the house which hints at exactly what that strange man on the boat
was hinting at too. And then there’s the mysterious Leo, Miranda hasn’t had
much luck with guys recently, so she’s not sure what Leo’s real intentions are,
he seems too good to be true; tall, tanned with blonde hair, a smile that could
make you melt and strong muscular arms. The thing is that he loves the water too;
Miranda only ever seems to bump into him at the beach or in his grotto and
always in the evening. Could these ideas that have been put in Miranda’s head
actually be true? Could these creatures exist? Or is it part of her imagination?

What I
loved about Ocean of Secrets was that it was chocker block full of secrets and
no-one really ever confirms or denies anything. Some people may find this
hugely frustrating. But I had a lot of fun with this because you’re kind of led
to make your own assumptions. Anything was possible as there wasn’t really ever
hard evidence that these creatures ever existed (If you’re thinking what these creatures are I’m sure the title, colours of the cover and oh so subtle
hints dropped by the strange man on the boat would give you the biggest clues).

Miranda
was an easy character to relate to, she’d not had the best time in New York and
so wanted to break from it all. I liked how she was honest (most of the time) and
up front with what she did and didn’t like, when Cee Cee, who I did find
obnoxious at times and even her mum kept trying to force her to be with T.J.
because he was totally the one for her. She put her foot down; she knew why
they wanted her to be with him, because he was well off. Whereas Leo the
genuine sweetheart they didn’t like which I really didn’t get. I found myself
eagerly anticipating her scenes with Leo, as they were thoroughly swoon worthy!
Also Leo definitely became my favourite when he admitted he enjoyed reading! (How
can you resist a guy that loves reading too?)

Neat
endings seem to bore me as of late, so I like how things were left in Ocean of
Secrets, with very little answered, there’s still so many things we’re unsure
of; I’m hoping that this was left this way on purpose with the hope of a
sequel.

12 comments:

I'm not sure if the many unanswered questions would be something I enjoy (sometimes I just need to know!), but I do like the thought of a not-so-neat ending. You're right, it can be a little boring to have everything revealed by the end. Some lingering mystery is always interesting. :) Beautiful review as always, Japsrit! You have convinced me to give this a shot now.

I have a copy of this, but this is actually the first review of it I've read! I'm not sure whether or not this will be for me (I get frustrated if I can't find something out!) but at the same time, I can see it being very interesting! I will have to pick it up soon. Great, honest review Jasprit!

Hmmm. I think this book would frustrate me for the exact reasons it worked for you Jasprit! So funny when that happens:) I love neat endings, and it drive me crazy to be left to make my own assumptions (that sounds bad - like I can't think for myself, but I like certainty in my fiction since there's so little in life!). Beautiful review as always though my friend!

I love secretive books that keep me guessing, and it's been a long time since I've read a selkie novel (at least I'm guessing we're talking about selkies? Or is it mermaids/men?). And I agree with you about the cover! The colors alone draw me in, and everything just fits together.Great review! Miranda sounds like my kind of heroine :)

Neat endings are becoming quite tiresome for me, too. :) That said, this novel sounds quite interesting! And selkies? Oh. After The Brides of Rollrock Island, I was searching for a decent to excellent book about selkies. :) Glad you enjoyed this book, Jasprit! Stunning review, my love. :)

I'm guessing Leo is a Selkie because Miranda is going to Selkie island. which is really nice! I do not know any other books with that kind of creature. Wonderful review Jasprit! I also enjoy stories full of secrets!!!

Lovely review, Jasprit! I love when a story is so full of secrets yet instead of being frustrated you just get more intrigued and interested in figuring out what they are. This sounds like one and the characters too seems like the kind I would love to know and meet (especially Leo). lol! Glad you enjoyed this. :)

Fantastic review, Jasprit! I haven't heard of this one before, but as you said, the cover is so mesmerizing! I'm so glad you enjoyed this one, so I think I definitely have to check it out, especially as I haven't read anything about selkies yet. This is going on my TBR-Shelf for sure! :D

I'm not familiar with this book Jaspirit and while the premise sounds really good, I think the fact that you have to come to your own assumptions would put me off and frustrate me. I totally agree about the cover, it is awesome. Great review :)